Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Of God

“Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:10b)

John shows us the real meaning of what we call “salvation.” It means to be “of God.” Interesting isn’t it, how one little 2-letter word can make all the difference? To be “of” God means to belong to Him. Salvation is thus a relationship. In fact, it is a union with God, so that we are then of God. The way we then know we are of God is that we live our lives rightly in relationship with Him.

Living life rightly does not mean that we live it sinlessly. No one on earth is capable of doing that. John in fact acknowledges that we do sin. Living rightly simply means living positively in relation to God, and one specific way that is revealed is by loving others the way God does. This kind of love is not just the “feel good” stuff that movies with lofty music backgrounds portray. This is God’s kind of love, the “agape” kind. Apart from God, we are not capable of this kind of love, so when we demonstrate it we reveal that we are “of God” because He is the One who produces that love in us. In fact, when we demonstrate it, it is actually God in us taking action through us.

So, the key to living rightly and loving one another is to submit ourselves to the work of God in us.

Lord, Help us to live this way each day. Thank You for Your forgiveness in those times that we don’t. Amen.

About Me

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, Lord of heaven and earth. My great desire is to be where God wants me to be, doing what He wants me to do, as long as He wants me to. The great desire of my life is for authenticity, to walk with God and do what is right, and to share the good news of Jesus with everyone.